Jail death clue to Rajan network

According to police sources, Santosh has been offering loans to several city hoteliers for renovating their premises. The rate of interest is reportedly around 4 per cent and the money is transacted entirely through hawala channels by one Dilip Marwari.

Santosh is also suspected to have overrun some dilapidated buildings in and around Lalbaug, replacing them with multi-storeyed structures. Sources say he was behind the landing of large consignments of arms near Gorai last year. Part of the consignment was confiscated by the police.

Sources inform that Santosh, apparently at the behest of Rajan, has been procuring fake currency paper from China. The paper is reportedly used to print fake American dollar bills. Singapore-based Michael Fernando is also suspected to be linked to the racket. He has been using a shipping company as a front, they say.

Santosh is also believed to own a hotel in Kebayoran Baru in Jakarta, Indonesia. These premises are also being used as a front, police sources in Mumbai suspect.

Sources add that Santosh acquired the alias Rajesh Madan Sharma after he was released from Nasik jail in 1996. Nicholas Madan Sharma is another name used by him.

Officers in Mumbai Crime Branch inform that Santosh has moved up to the second in command position after the murder of Rohit Verma in September 2000 and, in fact, he was instrumental in Rajan’s escape from hospital.

Police suspect Rajan had earlier used Santosh to eliminate Chembur-based hotelier Vinod Shetty and three others in Panvel in late 2000. Santosh’s interest in Singh’s murder is seen as an outcome of rivalry within the gang, as the latter was also considered a good organiser.

On the other hand, D.K. Rao, another suspect in the case, is considered a frontline operator. He is mostly known for carrying out extortion threats and recruiting robbers into the gang.

The Prisons Department has also directed the CID to look into an Indian Express report that prior warning of an attempt on Singh’s life was ignored by the Nasik prison authorities. ‘‘The CID has been asked to include this in their probe into the death of O.P. Singh,’’ said a Home Department official on Friday.

Supari for Singh: Rs 1 lakh and legal help for the ‘attackers’

EACH member of the group hired to kill Chhota Rajan’s former aide O.P. Singh was promised Rs 1 lakh and legal assistance. Sources in the underworld say that at least six of the 13 who were moved from the Arthur Road jail to the Nashik jail were promised Rs 1 lakh by Sharad Bavkar alias Babloo, considered the mastermind D.K. Rao’s man friday. The amount was to be paid to the undertrials’ families.

The members of the killer squad were also offered legal assistance through a lawyer operating from Dharavi. He is suspected to be involved in recruiting men for the Rajan gang.

S. Mitbawkar alias Bandya Mama’s protege Nilesh and Shetty are believed to have played a key role in killing Singh inside the prison. Sources say that the plot to kill Singh was known only to the core group and was hatched in Mumbai. The nylon rope used to strangle the victim was purchased from Shahpur, sources said. Santosh Kandalgaonkar and Vilas Vaidya alias Kolha were the last to see Singh alive before he was killed around 2.15 p.m. on Sunday. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered.

The killing of Singh has boosted the morale of D.K. Rao and his associates, sources said.

Police sources said Rajan and close associates Santosh Shetty and Bharat Nepali have gone on a clean-up operation eliminating all those who would be a potential threat to them. The syndicate recently eliminated Ramya Bhiyya, a Jogeshwari-based gangster who was considered close to Singh.

Mumbai Crime Branch has recorded the statement of the undertrials transferred on November 23. The suspects however, have not confessed yet and there are no eyewitnesses.